Tag Archives: gluten free lasagne

Lasagne is one of those meals that is loved the whole family. Let’s face it, if you don’t love lasagne then you are very usual! Often seen as hard to make, time consuming and more comfort food than “healthy” I want to share my top tips for making it a standard weeknight family meal.

Pack in the veggies. Lasagne does not have to include meat! I rarely use mince to make lasagne these days. Instead I use lasagne as a way to pack in the veg. You can use lentils, beans or tofu or quorn to get protein in. There is nothing wrong with using the normal beef mince but if you are looking for more variety with meals or like us, are wanting to eat a greater range of plant based protein sources then it’s time to expand your lasagne repertoire.

Making your own sauce doesn’t have to be complicated. As much as I love a white sauce, if I’m in a rush it always goes lumpy or I burn the bottom of the pan. One of my hacks is to use cottage cheese. Add a little natural yoghurt to thin it down and pour it on the top of the lasagne, top with grated cheese and the jobs done. I wasn’t convinced this sauce would pass the lasagne police in my house but it did. Phew. The other easy alternative is to use a half fat creme fraiche, simple.

Embrace your freezer. I totally love my freezer, it saves me on a regular basis. Oh, and it needs defrosting, in case anyone fancies helping me with that. You can either make a double batch of the main filling and freeze it for another meal, or I like to make a whole lasagne and freeze it, makes me feel like a proper domestic goddess. Minus the tidy kitchen, mine is never tidy.

Make ahead. I often make lasagne in stages. so I will either get the main filling out of the freezer and leave to defrost, or make the filling up and leave it. Then later I get a child to help me put it together, layering the filling, pasta and sauce.

Use pre-bought lasagne sheets. I know most people don’t make their own fresh lasagne sheets, but I sometimes do, it makes the lasagne SO good, literally the best lasagne. But it takes more time that I just don’t have that often.

So why not transform your lasagne into sometime more inventive. It’s a forgiving dish. Here is a recipe for a wheat free, dairy free version I made this week:

250ml stock (I used homemade chicken stock but you could use a stock cube and water)

1 bay leaf

Dried mixed herbs

1 small glug of balsamic vinegar

Lasagne sheets (wheat free if required)

White sauce

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 tbsp wheat free flour

Soya milk as needed, approx 250ml

250ml water (you may not need it)

Soya cheese or normal cheese

Instructions

Chop all the vegetables in a food processor (this saves time!) or chop finely by hand.

Saute in the oil for a few minutes, then add the lentils, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, bay leaf, dried herbs, balsamic, stock and simmer for 20 minutes. This is your basic lasagne filling, You can now freeze this, keep it in the fridge for making up later, or use straight away.

Make up the lasagne with 1 layer of lentil mix, lasagne sheets, lentil mix and lasagne sheets.

White sauce

Pour the oil into a sauce pan and mix in the flour with a wooden spoon, it will make a thick paste. Mix in a little milk and stir to make a batter, now add in the rest of the milk place on a gentle heat and keep stirring to incorporate it all. The sauce will thicken, if it is too thick add some water. Keep stirring! Let it gently bubble but not too much. I like to let it cool a little and then pour on top of the lasagne.

So what do you do when you’ve been building up all day to a vegetable lasagne and then you realise you are out of wheat free lasagne sheets?

1. Make something else?

2. Make your own lasagne?

3. Use potato instead?

Today I was feeling a bit more inventive, plus I had a tonne of potatoes to use up… so option 3 it was.

This worked really well, it took longer to cook as I wanted the potatoes to definitely be on the softer side, but you could parboil them to help speed up the cooking time. My cottage cheese white sauce is a big hit.Healthier, quicker to make and lighter on the stomach and palate too, it takes lasagne from a “weekend meal” to an “everyday meal”. My family are happy.

Someone suggested this was more of a moussaka, I’m not sure. I’m going with lasagne as that is what I based it on. Call it what you like. It’s delicious.

Vegetable Potato Lasagne

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Serves 6

A healthy take on a vegetable lasagne using cottage cheese to make the white sauce and potato instead of lasagne sheets. Grain free, gluten free.

Now add the peppers, carrot and courgettes, cook for a couple of minutes before adding the chopped tomatoes and wine.

Bring to a simmer and add the pepper, balsamic, herbs and sugar. All to simmer gently whilst you prepare the rest of the dish.

Slice the aubergine and potatoes lengthways into thin slices.

You could now parboil the potatoes to speed up the cooking time in the oven.

Mix the cottage cheese with the yoghurt to get a thinner consistency.

Now comes the fun…. in an overproof dish layer up the lasagne. Start with the tomato and vegetables base, top with aubergine slices, then potato and the white sauce. Repeat the layers one more time, ending with the white sauce on the top.

Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in the oven as Gas Mark 5 for 45-60 minutes.